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Re: Danny and his knee

If his knee is hurting it's due to inflammation and that's not good news at all. With use it will get worse and hewill be sidelined. Anyway if true he should sit it out until January and attempt a comeback at that time.

Just to clarify... Did you write this before reading Candace's tweets, or after?

Re: Danny and his knee

If his knee is hurting it's due to inflammation and that's not good news at all. With use it will get worse and hewill be sidelined. Anyway if true he should sit it out until January and attempt a comeback at that time.

You've read a report from a writer claiming to have a source stating that Danny's knee has been sore.You've read a quote from Danny saying it's not. Prior to this we've been given quotes from Danny saying his knee was fine and the calf strain was no big deal and a quote from Frank saying there is no correlation between the knee and this current injury. So you get to choose what you want to believe from that.
The idea of that report being true doesn't even enter my mind. No one could be a better source then Danny.

As long as Danny can play he needs to get out there. The sooner he can get back to playing form and become a part of the rotation the better.

Re: Danny and his knee

INDIANAPOLIS -- Unbeaten Indiana could soon be getting a boost from Danny Granger.The injured 6-foot-9 swingman is expected to work out Tuesday and could return to practice as early as Wednesday, coach Frank Vogel said before Monday night's game against Memphis.

Granger, a former All-Star, has yet to play in a game this season because of a strained left calf, and Vogel was cautious about establishing a timetable for Granger's return to game action. Clearly, the Pacers haven't missed him much.

The NBA's last unbeaten team is off to the best start (7-0) in franchise history and played four games in five days last week -- something Vogel said he had never been part of before.

"I think it's really a new beginning to the process of getting him game minutes and his game timing back in his legs," Vogel said when asked to update Granger's status. "I'm not sure when his return date will be."

The fact that Granger is about to start practicing, though, is an encouraging sign. He missed all but five games last season because of a tendon injury in his left knee and hasn't played in nearly a month after injuring his left calf. The day before the season opener, Indiana said Granger would miss three weeks.

Indiana intended to keep Granger out until he was pain free.

Granger said last month that he did not expect this injury to linger like last season's injury, although he did acknowledge that he wanted to make sure he was healthy.

What Granger will add to the mix is length and scoring punch. He led the Pacers in scoring each season from 2007-08 through 2011-12, and Vogel is hoping he will help create more defensive problems for opponents because of his long wingspan.

The Pacers already are allowing a league-low 85.3 points per game and have limited opponents to a league-low field goal shooting percentage (38.9).

Vogel also faces a dilemma with how to work Granger back into the lineup.

Lance Stephenson, who replaced Granger as the starter last season, is off to the best start of his career, averaging 14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. And Vogel certainly doesn't want to mess with success.

"I'll probably have a time frame for (Granger) for a number of games where he'll get some of the minutes that Orlando Johnson and Solomon Hill are getting," Vogel said. "Then we'll go from there."

Re: Danny and his knee

At this point I agree with bringing Granger into the rotation slowly at first. He was coming along very quickly during the preseason playing heavy minutes. As long as he can stay with it I don't worry about Granger earning heavy minutes within the rotation very soon. It would be great if the team could stay undefeated until Granger returns and he could take us up another notch, but the long term is all that matters.

Re: Danny and his knee

I agree...ease him in to the slot when he is deemed healthy enough. At some point......I'm inclined to simply give him OJs and Solo's minutes....which average a total of 23 mpg....but have all those minutes playing primarily with the Starters.

That means that Lance will still be able to play at least half of his minutes with the Starters while finishing games if needed....but still be able to create and run the offense with the bench at 18 mpg ( about the minutes that CJ, Scola and Mahinmi play ). But my preference and hope is that Vogel has enough trust in CJ, Scola and Mahinmi to boost their minutes up from 18mpg to about 20-22 mpg to reduce the reliance on the Starters.

My primary goal at this point is to have some 2 man combination of PG24/GH/Lance on the floor at all times.

If GH sits....then it's CJ+Lance+PG24.

If Lance sits...then it's GH+G24+OJ/Solo/Granger

If PG24 sits....then it's GH+Lance+OJ/Solo/Granger

Granger, at this point is a more experenced version of OJ and Solo that has length and nothing more than a 4th/5th scoring option. And YES, that means that I still want him to play most of his minutes with the Starters. The only time that he's not on the floor is when both PG24 and Lance are on the floor together.

Re: Danny and his knee

I agree...ease him in to the slot when he is deemed healthy enough. At some point......I'm inclined to simply give him OJs and Solo's minutes....which average a total of 23 mpg....but have all those minutes playing primarily with the Starters.

That means that Lance will still be able to play at least half of his minutes with the Starters while finishing games if needed....but still be able to create and run the offense with the bench at 18 mpg ( about the minutes that CJ, Scola and Mahinmi play ). But my preference and hope is that Vogel has enough trust in CJ, Scola and Mahinmi to boost their minutes up from 18mpg to about 20-22 mpg to reduce the reliance on the Starters.

My primary goal at this point is to have some 2 man combination of PG24/GH/Lance on the floor at all times.

If GH sits....then it's CJ+Lance+PG24.

If Lance sits...then it's GH+G24+OJ/Solo/Granger

If PG24 sits....then it's GH+Lance+OJ/Solo/Granger

Granger, at this point is a more experenced version of OJ and Solo that has length and nothing more than a 4th/5th scoring option. And YES, that means that I still want him to play most of his minutes with the Starters. The only time that he's not on the floor is when both PG24 and Lance are on the floor together.

Agreed.

Have you seen how much better our 2nd quarter looks ever since George Hill returned? Vogel is playing CJ and Scola a bit more in the 1st quarter and subs in Hill and West earlier in the second so we run with a Hill/OJ/Lance/West/Mahinmi line-up that has been pretty well. It has worked quite well.

Tonight, all flags must burn, in place of steeples.
Autonomy must return into the hands of the people.

After Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger shot down reports about a setback with his surgically repaired left knee, coach Frank Vogel repeated Monday that the veteran will return to the practice court this week.

“I still think it’s going to be a new beginning of a process to get his game legs back under him and his game timing,” Vogel said before the Pacers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “So I’m not sure when his return date will be, but he’ll start practicing.”

The Pacers will not have a full practice today, so Granger, who is entering the final week of what was expected to be approximately a three-week absence with a calf strain, will participate in individual work and possibly 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 games. By Wednesday, Granger and the Pacers should be back to full practicing.

“We wanted him to be pain-free because we don’t want this to be something that lingers,” Vogel said. “So my understanding is that he’s pain-free right now and (we will) push through the next few days and see where he’s at.”

On Sunday, Granger responded to a New York Daily News report that said he was “experiencing soreness” in his left knee by texting The Star that the report was “not even remotely true.” Granger missed all but five games last season due to a knee injury that eventually required surgery.